My wife and I recently bought an old house, one that was built in 1887. Many of the modern updates had already been completed when we purchased the home, but there were some projects we wanted to do. The biggest of these projects–redoing a bathroom. When the house was originally built indoor plumbing was not common. The original floor plan had no dedicated space for traditional bathrooms. To accommodate indoor plumbing, bedrooms and other available space had to be converted into bathrooms. The bathroom we want to redo has lots of space, the room itself is over 300 square feet. The problem is that everything; toilet, tub, and sink are all crammed into one corner of the room making for not only an inefficient use of space, but also, in our opinion, an unsightly one.

Our decision to completely redo this space began our odyssey with the skilled trades. We began calling plumbing, electrical and even general contractors to come out and look at the space and give us a bid for the work. Four of those that came out never responded back—we never heard from them again. Of those who did respond, it was a common theme on how booked they were and how it was going to take months before they could start the project. With each of these visits I began asking a few of questions; are you short staffed? Can you find people who are willing to learn? The answers were exactly the same with every one that I asked; yes, we are shorthanded and we just can’t find people to fill the job openings. I then asked what they saw happening with the trades in the next 10 years. Each them was unsure and genuinely concerned about the future of their trade.

These conversations lead me to do a little research on the topic. Currently the average age of the skilled trade worker in this country is 55 and for every new entrant into the work force three are retiring. You don’t need a calculator to do the math to tell you that this means trouble.

Why is this happening? Likely a number of reasons, but two common ones are; the thought that you need a four-year college degree to be successful and working with your hands is viewed negatively by many in our society.

My research lead me to Mike Rowe and his foundation, mikeroweWORKSfoundation. Mike is familiar to many of us from his time hosting the television show, Dirty Jobs or his current show Somebody’s Gotta Do It. He’s also the voice-over on The Deadliest Catch as well as a number of other shows. Anyway, his foundation promotes hard work and supports the skilled trades in a variety of areas. Mike is working hard to combat both of the reasons listed above for why more young workers are not entering the trades. For example, on his foundation’s website there is a section of video clips titled, “Hot under the Blue Collar” where Mike takes on many of the myths surrounding working with your hands. One of these videos focuses on the myth that skilled trade jobs don’t pay well. In this video, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data on the starting salaries of certain four-year college degrees is compared to that of a six-month to two-year training for skilled trade.

Degree in Education $33,800

Psychology $34,700

History $36,900

Business $41,200

Skilled Trades $48,100

Add to these statistics the fact that 40 million Americans have student debt, up from 29 million in 2008, with an average debt of $29,000. The class of 2015 was the most indebted graduating class in history averaging $35,000 in debt.

Opportunities in the skilled trades are abundant with Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that there are currently over 3,100,000 good jobs available that no one seems to want, with 2,500,000 more to be available in the next two years.

You can hardly read the business section in any newspaper or online without reading about the skills gap happening all across our country. It appears that this gap is real and only going to get worse. So if you are unsure of where your career is headed or have influence on someone still in high school, have the conversation about the skilled trades.

There are numerous blue-collar career options available, many which come with: training in half (or less) than the time needed for a typical four-year degree, minimal to no educational debt, with pay equal to or better than many four-year degrees. Not to mention that many come with a complete benefit package as well.

Oh and if you become a plumber in my area, call me as I may still be waiting to do that bathroom project.

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners. Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.

Many of us have firsthand experience dealing with vastly different styles of leadership, mine comes from decades of working for various size businesses: from very small companies to extremely large corporations. I did a little trip down memory lane and by my count I have worked directly for nineteen different bosses. In addition to that there was the hierarchy of management—all with positions of leadership. This provided me with the opportunity to witness firsthand a vast number of management and leadership styles. And it gave me a clear understanding that there is very big difference between the two.

These two posts may seem to be unrelated, but for me the message was the same. The first spoke to me about the concept of servant leadership, a term coined in 1970 by Robert K. Greenleaf in an essay titled “The Servant as Leader.” In this essay Greenleaf writes that the servant leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of those they lead. They share power, put the needs of others first, and help people develop and perform as highly as possible.

The second article by George discusses positive leaders and their desire to bring out the best in people. He states, “They aim to see others’ potential, to empower people to take responsibility for their actions, and to work together to make things better for all people.”

I hope that you have or will have the opportunity to work for a leader that espouses these principles. It is inspirational and will help you find the best version of yourself. If you have not had that opportunity, you can still learn from the leaders that you’ve had. I’ve often told my children that they could learn as much from seeing what not to do as they could from witnessing what is being done correctly.

Observe those in leadership roles, when you see a trait you admire write it down in your play book for future reference. This could be an interaction that made you (or others) feel important, encouraged you to push yourself to be your best, or provided you with validation that what you offer was valued.

Experiencing the opposite is also worth documenting in that play book. When a person in a leadership role (I won’t say a leader) takes credit for the work being done by others, displays an attitude that their time is more important than everyone else’s, or is always looking to blame someone, make a note to remind yourself how you felt when this happened so you can hopefully avoid doing that when you are in a leadership role.

No leader can be perfect simply because we as humans are an imperfect species. Leaders must evolve and this is much easier for the person who aspires to lead with a primary goal of helping people be their best self. It can become a calling. Those that choose to be in a leadership role because they want the power of the position and the material possessions that come with it won’t evolve and will eventually be replaced.

I encourage you to start your play book today, regardless if you are already in a leadership position or hope to be some day, we can all benefit by observing and documenting. The most value quite often is simply the process of reflection.

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners. Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.

During a recent visit to my daughter’s house I watched her compliment her three-year-old son. I don’t remember the exact reason or wording, but what I do remember—what stood out—is the way she delivered the praise. It’s so easy for any of us, much less a parent of two toddlers, to simply say “nice job” and leave it at that. But my daughter took a few extra seconds to make her praise very specific, leaving no doubt as to what she was praising. She also made an extra personal connection by adding how proud she was of him. I remember watching their interaction and thinking wow, great job! What a wonderful reminder this was for me on how to effectively give praise.

There is no question that offering praise is a great motivator. From a scientific standpoint positive recognition releases the neurotransmitter, dopamine, in our brains and makes us happy and feel good about ourselves. Along with creating feelings of pride and satisfaction, dopamine can also contribute to innovative thinking and creative problem solving. A Gallup research project which surveyed over four million individuals, determined that employees who receive regular praise are more productive, engaged and more likely to stay with the company. The research also indicated that those who receive praise regularly have better customer scores and enjoy better health.

In a previous blog “Positivity Matters: What’s’ your Ratio?” from September 2014, I wrote about the positive to negative ratio and the desired 3:1 (or greater) ratio for a positive workplace. Praise can be an excellent vehicle for providing positive interactions. Whether you are looking to motivate, encourage a behavior, reward, or simply brighten someone’s day, praise can be invaluable.

But beware, if done incorrectly or insincerely you run the risk of doing more harm than good. Oftentimes employee-of-the-month programs fail because if you dole out praise equally by letting everyone have an opportunity to “win” employees can see this as “canned” and insincere, or if the same employees win month after month, others may end up resentful.

When greatness is seen, praise it immediately! The more time that passes between the great accomplishment and the recognition, the less impact the praise will have. Also, positive recognition, like a good meal, is very enjoyable but its effects only last a short while. Make sure you look for opportunities whenever you can in both your work and personal life to offer genuine praise. Remember to be specific as to what you are praising and make sure it is praise worthy.

I’ll end with this quote from Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners. Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.